This play is set in 1942 in Vichy, at the time this was the capital of occupied France. When the Germans conquered France, they kept control over the northern portion and the West Coast or “Atlantic Wall” and they left the central portion of France and the South nominally under French control. But, according to Smith’s explanation, really they were acquiescent to the German occupants. In the fall of 1942 the German authorities encouraged the French authorities in occupied France to start rounding up undesirable people, starting with the Jews, and deporting them to concentration camps and death camps. According to a theatrical review website, “Written in 1964, this play is about guilt, fear, human nature, and complicity. The play explores these themes through its focus on the Holocaust and how the Nazis were often able to carry out their plans without resistance.”
Smith commented on the setting for the play and why the Porcupine theater space will work well for this particular piece:
“I had this play in my library for 40 years, and it's a very spare setting it just, it's a room with a couple of benches in it. People sit down, and that's it. So it's not very theatrical in that sense. You know, you don't need, don't need a lot of lighting. So when I started looking at what they had done to the porcupine bring it into I said, this is a great space for performance, and I've gone to some musical performances there. Pier One has done a couple of stage readings on this stage. It's just a bare stage there with no proscenium and no facility for curtaining and stuff like that,” he said.
Smith has also chosen to show this play as a result of some of our own current political events in the country--but he didn’t want to directly reveal too much of that and said he would prefer that the audience interpret it how they’d like to.
Finally, Smith provided some comments on his own history with Homer’s Pier One Theatre and how long he has been involved with the organization. “I attended the crucible in the old Pier One Theater, right by Land's End where the ferry dock is now. And, I mean, it was really funky. You know, you look through the floor, you can see this water, the seaweed surging, and Lance and Barbara were putting on The Crucible. Brad Hughes played the lead role. And I wish I could remember the minister's name. He gave an absolutely stunning performance. Maybe the best thing, certainly the best thing I've ever seen in an amateur theatrical and probably one of the best theatrical performances that I've ever seen. He embodied that character and brought him to life. I was totally stunned that this could happen, you know, in the drafty little warehouse and tail end of nowhere. So one that piqued my interest, I don't I never had done, done one little thing in college. I was dragged into this. Something in college. I didn't really care, but I was, I got interested in that, and then I went, finally, after some time, I auditioned for something at Pier One and was cast in a play, and got the privilege of working with Lance and Barbara, who were geniuses at developing theatrical interest and abilities in people, and that was, was such a, such an empowering and enlightening experience, and you could not want more of it, Smith said.
“After doing a couple of shows there, I asked Lance what I could do to make myself a better actor. And he said, Try directing. So I tried that, and I found, you know, that was his genius was, he would always say, you know, you look at you, we're doing this. Why don't you try doing this? And he's hold something, well, I think I, I think I might be able to do that. And then it would be something that you had to aspire a little bit, but you could get there. And as soon as you did, we would go, Oh boy. I didn't know I could do that. And he'd say, well, now try, try this. He could just bring stuff out of people. And I watched it all around me. It was a genius and Barbara equally in a different way. So it was such a privilege to be able to be plugged into all that and experience all of the joy and fulfillment that came from it,” he said.
Returning to Incident at Vichy: this is a 21 and over event. Those under 21 need to attend with a parent or guardian. All beer and wine sales from the event will go directly to the Friends of the Homer Public Library. Tickets are available on the Porcupine Theater website.
Maynard Smith concluded with a note of thanks to the Porcupine owners. “Oh, and I would like to say that, would like to shout out to Suzannah and Nathan, because they've been really supportive of all this and making it happen, taking them taking a little bit of a chance, or taking a chance, seeing if anybody can make it work in there.”
Reporting from Homer, this is Emilie Springer.